Hardware Research - Build Your Own Computer

Your friend has told you that they are looking to buy a new desktop computer. They
have looked into various models, but cannot find one that they like. Because you
have recently learned about computer hardware, you are now able to help your friend
build their own computer by purchasing individual parts. You have suggested this idea
to your friend, but they want to know a bit more about it first.
Look for a REALLY great computer system at Future Shop, Best Buy, Staples, The Source, Dell or any
other major retail store that sells computers. You can look online (probably the best), through flyers or even go to a store
yourself. The price range for this system should be somewhere between $1500 and $3000.
Research the following 10 items to prepare a chart that will help your friend understand:
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Item
Case
Motherboard
Processor - CPU
Graphics/Video Card
Hard Drive (HDD or SDD)
Memory (RAM)
Optical Drive (CD, DVD or
Blu Ray)
Monitor
Modem or Network Card
Audio/Sound Card

For each topic, do the following:

1. Briefly describe what the item is, its function, and its
importance.
2. Explain what to look for when you buy one (i.e. speed,
size, capacity. What makes certain products better than
others?)
3. Define any terminology associated with the hardware

(i.e. terms used to measure size or speed (ex: what does

gigabyte mean?; what does a particular acronym stand
for?).
*some terms have been included here, but you should add
more!
4. Cost for each part and what store(s) you are going to
purchase it.
You may also provide images of the hardware here.
Record your information in the table provided on the next page.
You may submit the document electronically, and print a copy
for your notes.

SUBMIT:
i)
ii)

Completed Chart: Hardware Research Summary

In your documentation, write a conclusion to your report that will answer the following questions:
Conclusion
1. Do you think the retail stores are cheating customers? Explain your reasoning?
2. What kind of profits do you think most of these retailers are making on any one computer system?
3. How easy do you think it would be to build your computer for most people? How beneficial would it be for a
person to buy a full system versus building their own? Explain.
4. Do you think you might actually build your own system one day in the future? Why or why not?

Recommended Sources:

www.howstuffworks.com TECH > Computer > Computer Hardware/Computer Peripherals

www.Wikipedia.com
www.tigerdirect.ca a great website to find computer parts!
www.pccanada.com Premier Computers, a small Toronto vendor
www.oemexpress.com
www.directcanada.com

i) Hardware Research Summary

Item

Case

Cost
$100.
49

Motherboard $234.
97

Vendo
Description and Function
r
Tiger
It is the enclosure that contains
Direct most of the components of a
computer usually excluding the
display, keyboard and mouse.

What to
Look For
Material, Size,
Slots.

Tiger
Direct

Supported
Devices, Fan.

It is the main printed circuit

board (PCB) found
in computers and other
expandable systems. It holds
many of the crucial electronic
components of the system, such
as the central processing
unit (CPU) and memory,

Related
Terminology/Images

Bus:
BIOS:

PCI:

Processor CPU

$328.
98

Best
Buy

A central processing unit (CPU) is

the hardware within
a computer that carries out
the instructions of a computer
programby performing the basic
arithmetical, logical,
and input/output operations of
the system.
It is an expansion card which
generates a feed of output
images to a display such as a
computer monitor.

Size of BUS,
Speed.

Amount of
memory.

Video/Graphi $264.
97
cs Card

Tiger
Direct

Hard Drive
(HDD or
SDD)

$119.
99

The
Sourc
e

It is a data storage device used

for storing and retrieving digital
information.

Memory

$50.

Futur
e
Shop

It refers to the physical device

Speed,
used to store programs or dataon Quality.
a temporary or permanent basis.

Hertz (Hz):
Heat Sink:
Clock Rate:

Graphics
quality,
Processing
Speed.

RAM:4gb

Volatile

Optical Drive $40.

(CD, DVD or
Blu Ray)

Monitor

$289.
99

Modem or
Network
Card

$130.
98

Futur
e
Shop

It is a disk drive that uses laser

light or eletromagnetic waves
near visable light spectrumas
part of the process of reading or
writing data to or from optical
disks.

Capacity,
Supported
Media

Futur
e
Shop
Best
Buy

It is a electronic visual display for

computers.

Speed,
Resoloution,
size.
Speed.

It is a computer hardware
component that connects a
computer to a computer network.

Audio/Sound
Card

$279.
99

Tiger
Direct

It is an Internal computer
expansion card that faciliates
economical input and output of
audio signals.

Processer
Speed,
Encoding.

ii) Conclusion:
1. Do you think the retail stores are cheating customers? Explain your reasoning?

2. What kind of profits do you think most of these retailers are making on any one computer system?

3. How easy do you think it would be to build your computer for most people? How beneficial would it be for a person to buy a
full system versus building their own? Explain.

4. Do you think you might actually build your own system one day in the future? Why or why not?

Hardware Research Rubric

Criteria
Knowledge/Understandin
g
Identifies and describes
the basic components of
the computer and their
functions

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

with limited
success few
details are
included and
accurate

with some success

some detail is
included and
accurate

with considerable
success considerable
detail is included and
accurate

with a great deal

success lots of
detail is included
and accurate

with limited
success

with some success

with considerable
success

with a great deal of

success

Thinking/Inquiry
Uses appropriate
research strategies to
access and interpret
information
Communication

Uses and defines correct

terminology to describe
hardware concepts

with limited
accuracy and
clarity

with some accuracy

and clarity

with considerable
accuracy and clarity

with a great deal of

accuracy and
clarity

completes few
components

completes some
components

completes most
components

completes all
components

Application
Develops a complete
hardware resource to
share information